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Thus far, Donald Trump’s presidency has been characterized by a series of crises. His campaign is under investigation for its ties to Russian agents; his Muslim ban has been blocked by the courts; his health-care legislation is being rewritten by the Senate; and his forays into diplomacy have embarrassed the United States and its allies. But as we lurch from scandal to scandal, let us not lose sight of the fact that we are witnessing a dangerous, sustained, and increasingly violent assault on the free press.

There appears to be no political price to pay for violence, as long as it’s committed by someone like Greg Gianforte.

Before the incident, Gianforte and outside groups had vastly outspent his Democratic challenger, folk singer Rob Quist, and as many as half of the votes had already been cast by mail. But it remains deeply disturbing that a candidate who physically assaulted a reporter is now headed to Congress—and also that, in the 24 hours following the attack, Gianforte’s campaign raised almost $100,000. For a certain section of the electorate, it would seem, violence against the press isn’t a disqualifier in a congressman; it’s a bonus.

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There’s a distinct whiff of privilege about this sorry incident. Imagine if Gianforte had been black and had assaulted a Fox News reporter. How do you suppose conservatives would react? Or imagine if he’d been an undocumented immigrant: How would the Gallatin County sheriff have handled the case? There appears to be no political price to pay for violence, as long as it’s committed by someone like Gianforte. (Coincidentally, Gianforte is one of several Montana Republicans who donated money to a suspected white nationalist running for a seat in the State House.)

During his campaign, Trump regularly called the media fake, biased, dishonest, unwatchable, distorted, and inaccurate.

It’s not just physical violence that reporters have had to face: Increasingly, their access is being restricted as well. During his trip to Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held a briefing at which no American reporters were present—because they were never told about it. Before that, Trump granted access to Russian state media for his meeting with the Russian ambassador, but the American press was snubbed. And in April, the White House decided it would keep its visitor logs secret, reversing an Obama administration policy.

This antagonism toward the press has been preceded by months of vilifying rhetoric. During his campaign, Trump regularly described the media as “fake,” “biased,” “dishonest,” “failing,” “unwatchable,” “distorted,” and “inaccurate.” At his rallies, he kept the press in a designated pen and encouraged his supporters to heckle them. In October, he started accusing the media of rigging the election. By February of this year, he declared that the media were enemies of the American people.

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These threats can’t be dismissed. According to a recent report by TheNew York Times, Trump asked then–FBI director James Comey to “consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information.” Comey has since been fired and will be replaced by someone of Trump’s choosing, who may in fact carry out that order. This is especially relevant because Trump’s treatment of the media has been embraced by many others around him. For example, at the Coast Guard Academy’s commencement last month, a live microphone captured Homeland Security chief John Kelly joking to Trump about a ceremonial sword: “Use that on the press, sir.” Also last month, while visiting a gun range, Texas Governor Greg Abbott hoisted a target sheet riddled with bullet holes and said, “I’m gonna carry this around in case I see any reporters.”

No doubt these officials would say this is just humor—“Lighten up, liberals!” And no doubt they would dismiss what happened to reporters in Montana, Washington, and West Virginia as nothing more than isolated cases. But those of us who come from parts of the world where reporters are threatened, harassed, jailed, or murdered find neither humor in the jokes nor justification for the violence. Either the press can, as the saying goes, afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted, or it is not free at all. Threats against the free press are threats against democracy itself.

Laila LalamiTwitterLaila Lalami is the author, most recently, of The Moor’s Account, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. She writes the "Between the Lines" column for The Nation, and is a professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside.

The people will have to see the press diminished and their own lives degraded before they see the danger and then it will be too late. I, for one, will welcome global warming and the end of human life on the planet. In a 100 million years, maybe another race, with a conscience and decency will arise. Or not. But it will be nice to die knowing the thugs will be toast too.